What if scripture points you to how to develop your inner life? Your reflexivity? Adopting an esoteric reading of the Ten Commandments, we can find reflexive ways forward. The thinking here is a development of the work of Edward Edinger in ‘The Bible and the Psyche: Individuation Symbolism in the Old Testament'(1). I have extended and applied his work to qualitative research practice. So what follows covers both a psychological view of the ten commandments, and also an extension for qualitative researchers (I am getting deep in to my doctorate…..!)
This post is taken from the appendix to my 2015 paper on Self Inquiry, which you can see on the ‘Papers’ section of my blog. For the uninitiated, Self Inquiry can be understood as a spiritual practice, as a way of thinking about psychotherapy, and as a research method (where it is often called auto ethnography or heuristic inquiry, or where it is found as an aspect of other research methods).
1.You shall have no other gods except me. At a psychological level this can be thought to refer to the Self, the fundamental feature of which is that it is integrated, and whole. It is the All. In research using Self Inquiry we can understand this as an injunction to obey that which arises from the centre, to be rigorous in our integrity and authenticity in approaching our research.
2.You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them. Psychologically this can refer to the tendency to separate and worship one part of the psyche at the expense of the whole. Spiritually perhaps it refers to a tendency to want to split the divine in to something we can manage or understand. In research this refers to the need to question and move on from any proposition set out, questioning and challenging as we go.
3.You shall not utter the name of Yahweh your God to misuse it, for Yahweh will not leave unpunished the man who utters his name to misuse it. Psychologically this can refer to the false claim that one is whole or in some way ‘enlightened’, as Edinger says ‘the presumptuous assumption that one is operating out of wholeness’. In Self Inquiry as a research method this could be understood to be a warning against assuming a piece of content is arising from your Self, when in fact it is unverified by inner process and may in fact be tinged with shadow, with egoic material.
4.Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy as Yahweh your God has commanded you For six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath for Yahweh your God…For in six days yahweh made the heavens and the earth and the sea and al that these hold, but on the seventh day he rested; that is why Yahweh has blessed the sabbath day and made it sacred. The advice for Self Inquirers here is clear – take time away from your labours. The importance of incubation is stressed by many writers on the research methods which most use Self Inquiry such as the heuristic inquiry of Clark Moustakas and the Intuitive Inquiry of Rosemarie Anderson (see the 2015 paper for more detail). At the level of inner work, there are cycles of action and rest.
5.Honour your father and mother, as Yahweh your God has commanded you, so that you may have long life and may prosper in the land that Yahweh your God gives to you. Respect your sources. That which sources you and resources you. Take care of your body, your environment, and the shoulders of the giants on which you are standing. And do so with an attitude of humility. Reference properly. Be nice.
6.You shall not kill. Psychologically this injunction requires us to allow unconscious contents to emerge and not be repressed. In research it refers to the same situation – allow what is difficult, consider your outliers .
7.You shall not commit adultery. This means to ensure that what emerges is not adulterated, but psychologically this relates to material which proceeds from the conjuncito, that which follows union or marriage at an inner level. Edinger says ‘psychological adultery is a violation of ones highest perceived value, a regressive back-sliding’. In Self Inquiry as a research tool this refers to the process of discernment in your research, the ability to know when to bring in other material, and when not to.
8.You shall not steal. At a psychological level this refers to the necessity to know what is yours and what is not, or not yet, yours. It might also refer to the necessity for sacrifice and exchange on the inner path. In research we know about the importance of not plagiarizing the work of others. How does this relate to Self Inquiry? how might the Self be stolen from by the ego?
9.You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour. In psychological inner work this commandment can be understood as relating to the shadow, and to the process of projection. We are required to be honest about the parts of ourselves with which we are less comfortable, and to own them as our own and not to project them out on to our neighbour. In research using Self Inquiry this teaches us the discipline of drawing each insight back in to the self and testing it against one’s inner compass, finding the inner resonance.
10.You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, you shall not set your heart on his house, his field, his servant – man or woman – his ox, his donkey or anything that is his. Not only must we not steal what is not ours we must not want it either. We must not even want what is not ours. Do not compare yourself to others, but be willing to find your own path. In Self Inquiry we follow our own path, wanting that which is ours, uniquely, our own subjectivity.
- Edinger, E. F. (1986). The Bible and the psyche: Individuation symbolism in the Old Testament. Toronto, Canada: Inner City Books.
Alchemical Garden: the Body of Spirit 